1. The audience will listen because I’m a subject matter expert and what I have to say is interesting.

This is probably one of the most frequent mistakes made by speakers.

We all like to think that we know our stuff, and many people do. But that alone will not engage your audience.

Albert Mehrebian the US Educational Psychologist’s research demonstrated that only 7% of your presentation’s impact will be your words. Only 7%... This is worrying for subject matter experts. You could prepare for weeks, select the best words and key messages, you could have the best introduction, middle section and ending than any speaker on the bill, but your impact could be negligible. (Read on for more about Albert Mehrebian)

A few year’s ago I became a school governor and as such, I was offered training sessions by my local Education Authority. The general standard of the 2 hour presentations was good. One evening, the guest speaker, a man who had worked in education all his life with a career that spanned being a headmaster, Ofsted inspector and a senior role in the Ministry of Education and Science; what this fellow didn’t know about the history of secondary education was not worth knowing.

However, he ended every sentence with a pronounced hmmmmmmmmm. Imagine that 6 times per minute, for two hours.... I nearly lost the will to live.

Tip – Listen and react to feedback from your colleagues. I’m certain that over the course of this fellow’s long and distinguished career, many people must have mentioned his verbal mannerisms. If your company culture prohibits you from giving constructive feedback, seek professional help. Advice from consultants is more likely to be accepted because it is seen to be given objectively.


2. Speaking too fast.

Nervous and inexperienced speakers always remind me of the 100 metres sprint. They hear the gun, they’re out of the blocks fast and they can’t wait to get it over with.

This is not unusual – it is the normal reaction to any potentially stressful situation. Let’s close our eyes, do it, and get it over with. It’s a bit like going to the dentist.

However, some speakers do not even devote themselves to such minimalistic preparation.

Tip – for each minute of your speech, spend ten minutes of preparation on it. Watch yourself on video and ask yourself if you’re delivering too fast.


3. Keep it short and simple and always leave them wanting more.

The best way to maintain the attention of an audience is to start with a gripping opening, develop a maximum of three themes or key messages, and conclude with a message that pulls the introduction and key messages together with impact.

An experienced speaker can make this look simple and seamless, but we’re looking at perhaps 0.001% of the population. We all need help developing this skill.

If you speak for over 10 minutes it’s almost inevitable that the structure will suffer and you will lose your audience because you haven’t signposted your structure well enough. Tell them what you’ll tell them, tell them, and tell them what you’ve told them.

Tip – keep it short and simple and use your best material at the beginning and the end of your speech. Start and end with impact.

4. Maintaining eye-contact with your audience.

For the new or inexperienced speaker, eye-contact is one of the hardest aspects of speaking. Looking into the eyes of strangers does not come naturally to most of us. Indeed, in some cultures young people looking directly into the eyes of their elders is seen as a mark of disrespect.

However, as a speaker, your audience is your primary concern. Remember that without audiences, we do not need speakers. Making eye-contact and engaging your audience is critical to success. It shows respect and demonstrates confidence. We listen and learn most from confident speakers. Life is a busy place, and when we invest time in a speaker, nobody likes to feel they have wasted their time.

Tip – if you find eye-contact difficult, try it out with friends and family in regular conversations. You will have a major impact on those with whom you are conversing. It’s very difficult (almost rude) to disengage eye-contact with somebody when you’re having a pleasant chat. Bear that in mind when you’re making a speech and you’ll do very well.

5. Speaking in a dull and monotonous voice.

Throughout our professional careers, how many times have we endured the monotonous speaker?

In my case rather too often. Tonal variety is what adds massive impact to your speech or presentation. We need some highs and lows allied to seamless changes in pitch and pace. These effective techniques help to keep your audience engaged and participating in your presentation. Mehrebian’s research demonstrated that 38% of what an audience remember is down to the effective use of tonal variety. A massive 55% relates to your body language. If you send a mixed message, don’t be surprised if the message is dropped.

A key factor in any speech or presentation is simply this:

It’s not what you say. It’s the way that you say it.

Scenario 1:

You’re trying to find the channel with the live football. Suddenly, your wife sitting in the opposite armchair says, ‘Do you love me?’

You continue flicking through the channels, you don’t look back at her and you eventually say the words, ‘Of course, I love you.’

Scenario 2:

You’re trying to find the channel with the live football. Suddenly, your wife sitting in the opposite armchair says, ‘Do you love me?’

You stop flicking through the channels with the remote and put it down. You walk across the room and take your wife by the hand, gently and sincerely you look her in the eyes, caress her cheek and say, ‘Of course, I love you.’

Notice that the same words are used, but which do you think conveys the stronger message?

Clearly for a professional singer the voice is their most precious instrument.
It needs to be developed and it needs to be taken care of.
Different nuances and levels of expression are developed and revealed over time.
 
For the speaker it is much the same.  Quite literally the vocal chords are the medium that vibrate the air, that sends the message, that resonates in the listener's ear-drum.
 
An unappealing, grating or monotonous delivery will create resistance in the listener, regardless of the value of the content.
 
Initially when helping a speaker develop their vocal range we focus on the 3 'p's; pitch, pace and pause.
 
Pitch covers two areas of expression;
i.                     raising and lowering the voice as required to create tonal variety,
ii.                   effective and varied use of volume and projection.
 
We need to develop a natural, relatable style of delivery. These days the 'declaiming orator' seems a bit over the top to most of us, nevertheless it is still vital to be aware that every nuance that may seem effective under your own ear needs to be exaggerated for an audience.   Clearly the bigger the room, the bigger the audience, the more this becomes essential.
 
Pace , when combined with pitch adds the 'third dimension'.  To be able to naturally moderate the speed, the pitch and volume in different combinations can give infinite colour and variety to the polished, well-rehearsed speaker.
 
The pause is a valuable tool in its own right.  Its use can be varied and dramatic; whether for instance speeding up, increasing volume and pitch to reach a dramatic pause, or gently winding down to a natural silence to allow the audience to digest a significant point or opinion.
 
Articulation and clarity of speech are also important in delivering an effective presentation.   Many great singers are able to combine clear diction with a very natural delivery.  A singer like Frank Sinatra is worth listening to for the balance he achieves between ease and clarity.
 
In considering the voice and how it can be used to best effect, it can be very useful for a speaker to listen to the rhythm and nuances of music, particularly classical music, which can greatly help to develop natural rhythm and flow, as well as giving hints on pace, pitch and balance.
 
Michael Ronayne is a lead trainer with the College of Public Speaking. 

The Vote of Thanks is a short (2-3 minutes) expression of thanks to a speaker on behalf of the audience. Therefore it is not another speech, nor is it an evaluation, nor should it repeat the Chairman’s introduction of the speaker, nor may it be prepared in detail in advance. [all will become clear]

The opening sentence (which may be prepared!) might be of the following nature:

“Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen! On behalf of Norwich Orators, I am very happy to thank Fred for giving his speech on ‘Promotion in the Mexican Navy’ to us this evening…”

and the concluding sentence might be along the following lines:

“So, Mr Chairman, I say, once again, that we are all most grateful to Fred and I now ask the audience to express its appreciation in the usual way.”

[Please note that they will be applauding the speaker (Fred) and not the proposer of the Vote of Thanks.]

With experience, the opening and closing formula may be modified, always provided that the principles that they embody are not forsaken.

Needless to say, the person proposing the Vote of Thanks will listen most carefully to the speech. The proposer should pick out two or three points that s/he and/or the audience found particularly interesting and, in the Vote of Thanks, refer and respond to these. However, the proposer should NOT repeat those parts of the speech, nor discuss whether s/he agrees or disagrees with them, nor enter into any kind of debate.

With practice, how to select some useful or illuminating points, and how to incorporate references to them in the Vote of Thanks, becomes easier and, with time, the proposer will produce a presentation that resembles an excellent dessert following – and in happy harmony with – a fine main course.

For the moment, consider these extracts from a hypothetical Vote of Thanks to Fred and decide which (if any) you consider suitable in the light of the above discussion:

• Fred’s mention of pocket battleships reminds me of an incident during the Korean War. My uncle was on Dog Watch in the Straights of Malacca. It was a dark and stormy night…
• 
  
• I was particularly impressed by Fred’s tale of how Commodore Sanchez was twice passed over for promotion because of his terrible table manners.
• 
  
• Fred sometimes talks so quickly that we have no time to think through the implications of the very interesting but often complicated point that he is making.
• 
  
• I have to say that I disagree with him fundamentally regarding the role of Mexico in the American Civil War.
• 
  
• I have to say that, along with everyone else present, I was completely enrapt by his consideration of the role of Mexico in the American Civil War.
• 
  
• Fred’s tale of Ensign Gonzales and the attempted mutiny on board MNS Arrogant reminded us all, I sense, of Shakespeare’s reference to “vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself”.

Mike Douse is a double ASC National Speech Finalist (1979 & 2006), a member of both of Cardiff’s Speakers’ clubs and an Associate of the College of Public Speaking). Mike works as a freelance international education consultant and travels the world …

Of all the facets of public speaking, introductions are probably the most abused. This is because we fail to determine the objective, the purpose and the desired result.

How seldom do we hear an introduction which is really not much more than a partial biography, uninteresting, without structure, stumbled through,- merely going through the motions?

Who cares whether the speaker was born 1901 in Plopton, that he went to grammar school, high school and university, that she married a class mate, has four children, a Polo, a bulldog, and moved to Dublin in 1961? So they are going to speak on "The future of our forests in Africa".

Exaggeration? – Perhaps. But not too far from the truth. It recalls all the boring ritual of the average introduction.

What is our duty in introducing the speaker?
Obviously, to increase the interest, attention and anticipation of the audience. It is only a courtesy to the speaker to condition the audience to a pleased, happy anticipation and ensure attention.

What is a good introduction?
It consists of several things:

With a few rare exceptions, a good introduction should not go over two or three minutes. Don't hog the limited time of the speaker.

There should always be an "introduction of the introduction." Perhaps this is only a single sentence of an attention-compelling nature. An introduction is a short speech and should follow the rules for good speech making. Some apropos side remarks or comments might further increase the mood and anticipation if it is lightly humorous and in good taste.

The body of the introduction should raise the importance of the timeliness of the subject to be discussed. This is to increase the interest of the "so what" members of the audience. A short statement about the speaker should follow, restricted as far as possible to their accomplishments.

Up to this point, the title of the talk, the business or professional connection, or the title of the speaker and their name, have not been given. The conclusion of the introduction consists of these three:

title of speech
title of speaker
the speaker's name

in that order. The last words spoken are the name of the speaker.

All of this in three minutes? Yes. It takes some doing, but it is your duty. Try it and you will be surprised at the good reception it will get.

Rare indeed is the person who can give a good introduction if they are called upon only in the last few minutes before the speech. An introduction needs preparation, thought and ingenuity. The introducer needs to know the title of the speech, the slant the speaker will take, some pertinent facts about them, and the type of audience they will be addressing.

When you are the introducer, pay close attention to everything that happens prior to your part in the programme. Often events occur that throw into your lap a comment or bit of humour which, if grasped, establishes the easy liaison and happy anticipation which is priceless background for the speaker.

What about introducing more than one speaker at the same meeting?

If that is your task, pay close attention to what the first speaker says. Use your ingenuity, and as they finish, comment upon their speech. Pick out some statement or thought you can refer to, and in a logical or humorous way, connect their speech with the one which is to follow. Use such remarks as the "introduction to the introduction" for the next speaker.

In making an introduction it is your duty not to bore the audience. It is your duty to increase your audience attention and anticipation. Try it next time. Condition the audience as you introduce the speaker.

Jo Wise works in the field of conference facilitation and has introduced over 500 speakers in her time, most of whom, she has never met. Introducing a speaker well requires strong research and just as much practice as giving a speech.